Chapter 105 - 92: The Empress’s Speculation

Chapter 105: Chapter 92: The Empress’s Speculation

The secrets regarding the Celestial Dao Map surfaced bit by bit in Zeng Anmin’s mind.

An extraordinary Intent.

As a Martial Art genius, the Intent Bai Ziqing obtained from the Visualization Atlas would absolutely not be weak. He had said it himself; the Illustrated Catalog he visualized was a top-tier Martial Dao Map. Therefore, an Intent even more formidable than his... could only come from a Celestial Dao Map.

The Taotie Map was in the Barbaric Wilderness.

The Sword Raising Map was with the Daoist Sect.

The Phoenix Strategy Map belonged to the Jiang Country’s royal family.

That left only Emperor Xi’s Map, whose whereabouts were unknown... and the description of Count Zhongyuan perfectly matched the profile of a Celestial Dao Map owner!

"If Count Zhongyuan truly possessed such peerless aptitude, it’s impossible for him to be corrupted by Bi Xuan using the Demon King’s Essence Blood...

"This is also why Father classified this incident as partisan strife.

"But what about the tail on the coccyx of his corpse..."

Thinking of this, Zeng Anmin extended his hand and gently willed his thoughts. Scales instantly sprouted over his arm, and his five fingers transformed into dragon claws in that very moment. The moment the golden-gleaming dragon claw appeared, a heavy silence fell over the entire room.

A sharp, piercing light flashed in his eyes as he murmured, "Then he, Count Zhongyuan... must have been just like me. It wasn’t as simple as merely awakening the Celestial Dao Map. If he was like me, using absolute Enlightenment..."

Zeng Anmin thought of the phantom image of the Dragon Inspection Map in his mind and murmured, "Let’s tentatively define this as... Extraction. Using absolute Enlightenment to extract the true Intent of the Celestial Dao Map!"

At this thought, Zeng Anmin slowly retracted his Martial Arts Aura and looked up at the starry night sky outside the window.

"In that case, another possibility arises regarding Count Zhongyuan’s death. Harboring a supreme treasure and being coveted by others!!"

Zeng Anmin abruptly turned his gaze toward the direction of Prince Qi’s Mansion!

His Dan Feng eyes narrowed slightly. "Prince Qi accidentally discovered that Count Zhongyuan’s estate held Emperor Xi’s Map, so he schemed to corner Count Zhongyuan’s family and wipe them out...

"Then, I only need to confirm one thing to verify my speculation.

"After Yin Wu returned from exterminating the demons, who from the Imperial City Department led the squad to raid Count Zhongyuan’s home back then?!"

Having made up his mind, Zeng Anmin stopped hesitating and stepped toward his father’s room. However, he stopped right at the door.

"Wait! Before that, I need to confirm something else first."

Zeng Anmin returned to his bed, closed his eyes, and with a shift of his will, entered the Sea of Consciousness.

Within the Sea of Consciousness, the phantom image of the Dragon Inspection Map still hovered in the air.

BUZZ!!

Zeng Anmin walked to the back of the Dragon Inspection Map’s phantom image, took a deep breath, and wrote:

[North: Fellow allies of the Celestial Dao Alliance, are you there? There is something I want to ask.]

After writing it, he waited quietly.

Jiang Country, the Capital.

Jiang Country was located in the south, while its capital was situated on the western side of the nation’s territory. Hence, it was also known as the Western Capital.

West Capital City, inside the Imperial Palace’s Imperial Study.

Even though it was late into the night, a figure still sat in a chair, reviewing official memorials. The figure exuded a noble and aloof demeanor, as if she had never lowered the unapproachable walls surrounding her. The fingers she used to pick up the memorials were slender and pale, seemingly devoid of flowing blood.

Her delicate dark eyebrows swept gracefully, devoid of elaborate pearl ornaments and tassels. Her long, flowing tresses were tied up with a single, finely carved plum blossom hairpin, complemented by only a touch of light makeup. Her elegant eyebrows resembled distant, graceful mountain peaks, and her thick sideburns were as soft as spring mist, exuding a Spiritual Qi reminiscent of the mystical clouds of Mount Wushan.

She was the current Empress of Jiang Country, Gu Xiangnan.

Her expression when focused was incredibly striking. When Gu Xiangnan’s gaze fell on the final memorial on her desk, her expressionless face shifted slightly as she narrowed her phoenix eyes.

"Zeng Shilin’s son, Zeng Anmin, King Jiang, the Black Cat Martial Artist..."

This was the intelligence reported back by the spies in the Holy Dynasty. The names rolled off her tongue one by one. Gu Xiangnan’s voice, crisp as clashing ice cubes, echoed in the Imperial Study.

She slowly closed her eyes, pondered for a moment, and murmured, "To confirm North’s true identity, further probing is required."

BUZZ BUZZ.

The next moment, she felt a vibration against her chest. Gu Xiangnan calmly stood up and walked toward the inner depths of the Imperial Study. Sitting down slowly, she reached into her robes and pulled out a book-sized Illustrated Catalog.

With a brief glimpse, one could faintly see that the front of the Illustrated Catalog featured a phoenix soaring through the heavens. In a mere instant, Gu Xiangnan flipped the Illustrated Catalog to the back.

On the back of the Illustrated Catalog, a line of small text slowly appeared.

[North: Is everyone here? There is something I want to ask.]

Seeing this line of small text, a solitary smile surfaced on Gu Xiangnan’s face. The smile was fleeting, but it was as brief and dazzling as a shooting star.

She extended her slender fingers, pale and delicate as scallion roots, and wrote word by word:

[South: What is it?]

Seeing an immediate reply, Zeng Anmin’s expression jolted slightly. He took a deep breath and wrote:

[North: Lately, I feel that Emperor Xi’s Map hasn’t been providing as many benefits as it did when I first awakened it. Have I hit a bottleneck?]

[South: Yes, supreme treasures are all like this.]

[North: Oh. Then I want to ask, how long has everyone had their Celestial Dao Map awakened? How is your Cultivation progress?]

After writing this sentence, Zeng Anmin stared intently at the phantom image of the Dragon Inspection Map. The previous statement was just a casual excuse. This question was what he genuinely wanted to ask.

[Dao: Three years.]

[Desolate: I awakened mine two years ago, and the progress is pretty good! The Taotie Map doesn’t just give me combat benefits; I also eat way more than my tribesmen in the same Realm! Right now in the entire Desolate Tribe, my dad and I are the biggest eaters!!]

The tone even revealed a hint of pride.

"Who asked you?!" Zeng Anmin was left speechless. "Eat as much as you want."

[South: I was a bit earlier. I awakened the Phoenix Strategy Map four years ago. Aside from obtaining a rather unique Intent, my Cultivation progress is indeed much faster than others.]

Seeing this, Zeng Anmin breathed a slight sigh of relief in his heart. Count Zhongyuan had passed away seven years ago. He hadn’t had any crossover with anyone currently in the Celestial Dao Alliance.

[North: All right, keep up the hard work! Cultivate diligently and strive to reach the Great Scholar Realm as soon as possible!]

The identity Zeng Anmin had established for himself was a disciple of the Confucian Dao Academy. However... Before he could exit the Sea of Consciousness, he saw another line of text appear:

[South: North, could you compose another poem for me? I will need it in a few days. Don’t worry, I won’t let you do it for nothing.]

Zeng Anmin’s mouth twitched. "How did Jiang Country’s Princess Wencheng get addicted to showing off??"

Since he had no current use for South, he simply strung her along and casually wrote:

[North: Apologies, my studies have been heavy lately, and I’m not in the mood to compose poetry. If there’s a chance in the future, I will definitely think of you first.]

Jiang Country, West Capital Imperial Palace’s Imperial Study.

Gu Xiangnan looked up expressionlessly, revealing her peerlessly beautiful side profile. She placed the Illustrated Catalog back into her robes.

She murmured,

"The timing matches.

"Zeng Anmin entered the Capital City, and North suddenly cannot compose poetry.

"In that case, North’s true identity must be..."

Gu Xiangnan looked at the secret memorial delivered to her desk nearby. Her eyes rapidly picked out four words from the dense text:

"Black Cat Martial Artist."